Micropumps enable pumping very small quantities (e.g., in the nano or micro liter range) of fluid. Described in U.S. Pat. No. 9,091,251, filed on Jul. 16, 2012, and entitled “Actuation method and apparatus, micropump, and PCR enhancement method,” is a micropump design where the active pumping element is a single crystal of a magnetic shape memory (MSM) alloy. The magnetic field, from a rotating cylindrical magnet (magnetized across the diameter of the cylinder), creates a microcavity in the MSM element which is swept from the pump inlet to the outlet. The microcavity fills with fluid at the inlet which is swept by a rotating cylindrical magnet across the MSM element to the outlet where the fluid is pushed out. The pump cycle repeats for every rotation of the magnet. U.S. Pat. No. 9,091,251 is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
Typical micropumps, such as the micropump describe above, do not enable chemical or optical analysis to be performed on a fluid within the microcavity while the fluid is in the pump. Further, typical micropumps continuously pump fluid and do not enable a small sample of fluid to be stopped within the pump for analysis.